What is the biggest obtacle for the Buccaneers in 2022?
The Tom Brady-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the NFC South last season and clearly stood out in the NFC with a 13-4 record. It won’t be an easy task for the Brady-less Bucs to repeat NFC dominance in 2022. Rest assured, that is the truth.
The Bucs will still look to retool and not rebuild without TB12 moving forward. Arians knows he has talent on the roster (Mike Evans, Lavonte David, Shaq Barrett) and the competition in the NFC South won’t be daunting as a whole. Nonetheless, Arians’s squad will still face challenges in 2022. With that said, here are the three biggest obstacles for the Bucs next season.
- Loss of Tom Brady
Let’s swiftly cut through the obvious hurdle for the Bucs in 2022: The loss of Brady. Tom Brady didn’t only throw the most passing yards and passing touchdowns in the NFL last season, but he’s also been an important leader for the team. It will be hard for Kyle Trask to come close to matching his swag and consistent fire in the locker room.
Trask will have to figure out how he can be productive and potentially unique for the Bucs. Perhaps, his athletic ability can make him more dangerous than Brady against the Saints, as the Saints are accustomed to teeing off on Brady.
- WR3 production
When the Buccaneers won the Super Bowl against the Chiefs, they were really counting on AB and Playoff Lenny with their outstanding matchups. They were clearly missing AB and Chris Godwin in their game against the Rams. I still am not convinced they will be set with Godwin and without a quality WR3 moving forward, especially since they were compelled to add Brown “with Tom Brady”. The Bucs will also likely miss the production from Gronk in 2022, as he seems interested in playing with Joe Burrow.
It will be hard for the Bucs to match points with the Rams or Packers without three prominent pass-catching options in my opinion. Trask will also need all the help he can get in year one. I’d love to see the Bucs grab a veteran WR like Jamison Crowder or reunite with Desean Jackson for one season at least.
- Defensive Line
The Bucs have been known to display a brick wall with their defensive line over the past few seasons. Although, it will be hard for them to replay their elite DL that demolished Patrick Mahomes in their recent Super Bowl. They will likely be missing JPP and Suh’s on-field presence next season.
Joe Tryon will be a force in the shoes of Pierre-Paul, but his depth was great for a third defensive end. The big loss will be Suh, who was a quality run stuffer and pass rusher with six sacks in 2021 and six sacks in 2020. I’d like to see the Bucs bring in a talented pass-rushing DT to join the mammoth Vita Vea this offseason.
